The former inmate said the video is the horrific reality of what he lived through.

Josh Brown, 22, spent a month in OPP at the age of 19 after a theft charge.

"Once you get back there, it's like you not even American, you're below human, like below animal," he said of his experience.

Videos released Tuesday as part of the hearings over a consent decree show inmates describing conditions in the prison including a moldy shower room next to where inmates were served food.

"I remember one time I was in the tents and in the tents it's like 90 people maybe, and one shower was working," said Brown.

He sat shaking his head as he watched the videos, saying the unsanitary conditions were scary. "I was on the floor because they didn't have any beds, so you were just on the floor. And sometimes, maybe like your first night or two, you wouldn't even have a mattress. They would just give you a blanket and tell you to sleep on the floor."

"It's crazy, but it's just like anything else, anything that's done in the dark will eventually come to the light, and as you can see it's coming to the light," he said.

Brown also said it's hard to understand why men are being locked up for drugs, but they're still getting those drugs while behind bars.

Since getting out of the jail system, Brown said he's worked hard at staying productive to keep himself out of those conditions. He's gotten involved in groups like Young Adults Striving for Success and Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana.